In simple terms, real estate is a property consisting of land or land with a building on it. Many different factors drive the growth of a real estate market, influence changes, and set real estate market trends in a given economy. Some of those factors include public-private partnerships, a rise in the economy that provides the consumers more purchasing power, and the efforts put in by the government for infrastructural developments. Here, Helena Drori Real Estate will take a deep dive into the West Palm Beach real estate market to show what is trending and what is not.
Real estate market trends overall
The rate of homeownership in the United State has been steadily rising since the year 2016, indicating a recovery from the erstwhile recession in the real estate market.
According to Finances Online, by the end of 2021, the percentage of homeownership has gone up from 63.4% in 2015 to a current 72%. Surprisingly, the early months of the Covid-19 era saw the highest rise in the homeownership rate. In the first quarter of 2019, the US homeownership rate was 64.2%. By Q1 of 2020, the figure rose to 65.3% with Q3 of the same year ending up with 67.4%.
This trend in the rise of homeownership clearly shows the demand for people to have their own homes. The main motivation leading to owning a home might be the health and safety concerns following the outbreak of the pandemic. While working from home and remote working has gained immense popularity, it has also directed the demands for homes with an office space and overall larger spaces with all technical amenities at hand.
The West Palm Beach real estate market has been no different. In fact, more and more people are looking to move to West Palm Beach — mainly for the sunshine that it offers on a perennial basis.
West Palm Beach real estate market trends in the year 2021
Located to the west and adjacent to Palm Beach, West Palm Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area and is more of a working person’s city than its adjacent counterpart, Palm Beach, which is the retreat and home of some of the wealthiest people in the world.
Following the recession of 2012, which saw the West Palm Beach real estate market being hit, the city has been slowly getting back on its feet, and the year 2021 was one of the most significant years that the market has seen in a long while. According to a report published by Redfin, of all the homes purchased worldwide, 30% of the properties that were purchased were all-cash deals. In West Palm Beach, as many as 52.6% of real estate transactions were cash deals.
The pandemic rush and the desire for year-long sunshine have been the driving force behind these mad runs of cash deals. People living in comparatively cooler places have been selling their houses and coming down to West Palm Beach to find new homes and pleasant winters.
The year 2021 was as hot as sand grains on the beach on a summer afternoon. The year saw record growth in the prices of housing and real estate property. The average price of sale for most houses in the area was $475,000 until the last month of the year.
Among the popular and posh neighborhoods in the city, the areas that received the most attention included:
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Northwood had a median sale price of $425,000.
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Flamingo Park had a median sale price of around $500,000.
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El Cid had a median price of $3.88 million.
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The Southend saw a median selling price of $699,000, and for expansive, extravagant mansions a list of over $10 million was not an uncommon sight.
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Prospect Park had a median price of $1,325,000.
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Lands of the President, a gated golf community located in the heart of the city, saw median prices of real estate upwards of $1 million
Overall, as of January 2022, the prices for single-family houses, townhouses, condos, and co-ops were up 27.2% in comparison to last year and were selling at a median price of $350,000. Until last year, the houses in West Palm Beach, on average, were being sold after 68 days from listing, whilst this year already has seen homes being bought on an average of 46 days after being on the market. Over the last three years, the median selling price of houses has seen a rise of over 27%.
These median prices and their rise over the years clearly indicate that the real estate market in West Palm Beach is on its feet and ready to run.
What is trending?
Looking at the available data on the properties that are being sold in the West Palm Beach real estate market, the most in-demand are single-family houses. The numbers show that in the last five years, a total of 160 single-family homes were sold, and the median sale price rise of 21.9% has led to the current median price of $478,000.
If we look at the sales data and median price rise of townhouses in the last five years, they reflect a total of 41 houses being sold with a median sale price of 23.8%. At present, the median sale price of townhomes is $260,000.
Going by the median price rise and sales rise, it seems that the next big thing in the West Palm Beach real estate market will be condominiums and co-ops. The numbers do not lie, and they show that, from 2017 to January 2022, a total of 130 condos were sold with a rise in the median selling price of 29%. This is the highest among all the housing properties. Looking at these numbers, the interesting thing to note is that year on year, the number of condos being sold has increased by over 5%, while the sale of the former housing properties shows a year-on-year decline.
The changing living habits and lifestyle, in addition to the preference for condominiums by the millennial generation, will only push the demand for condos in the coming years.
Real estate expectations in the coming years
Going about forecasting or predicting tomorrow can be a tricky business. The best one can do is do our research, collect and study relevant data, closely observe the present trends, trust the numbers, and anticipate what might happen.
Going by the numbers and trends, the future of the West Palm Beach real estate market will see a steady fall in the sale of single residential homes and townhouses. However, the median sale price may continually rise due to inflation.
On the other hand, the sale of condominiums is going to go up. Naturally, the evolution of condos into more sophisticated living units with technology playing a big part will follow. The demand for condominiums in the West Palm Beach real estate market will only grow in the foreseeable future.